GDT: Pre-Season #1: Mon., Sept. 16, 2019: Islanders at FLYERS, 7:00 pm ET

[eramosat]

My own 1st period thoughts. I am on delayed watching, so will not respond to any thoughts, nor have I read anything anyone said:
- team overall, nothing good or bad to report; looks like a Peewee team but yeah, pre-season makes players do weird things, on both sides
- Crisc? #51 who is from wherever is the only player I see demonstrating he is significantly better than rankings may show, he made a few pretty decisions/plays and followed them up too
- Ghost has wasted a number of offensive breaks with his poor decisions; last note of the period, he starfished on a 2-1 PP...is he adding that to his PP dee repertoire?

2nd period
Hayes is a big upgrade. He has a lot going for him, including a similar puck-protecting style to Couts which may help with line chemistry.
Oskar L. is a clear hard worker, on O and on PK.
Zemula has flashes of smarts, on O mostly and D too
Stewart....touch call, if younger players accept him as a source of advice, that's one thing. otherwise...he'll need to find his level soon

 

[FlyerNutter]

Not much to be excited about.

JVR-Hayes-Voracek; especially Hayes.

Braun.

Myers.

Mostly Zamula.

Really nothing else was very good.

Rubtsov I think is getting a little overhyped. I like his smarts, but he’s largely invisible.

I kind of agree with you. It’s one game of course so not to get too carried away but I did expect one of the kids to stand out a bit more. A lot of safe plays.

It was Zamula who impressed the most out of the “rookies”.

 

[flyersfan187]

I would like to say that Hayes looked great and with him/Couts/Patrick down the middle those are some big two way centers that quite possibly have chemistry with whichever wings are paired with them and that is huge. Morin also had a solid game and he should easily be the 7th d going into the season if everyone is healthy.

 

[TB87]

Stewart is very slow

 

[Rebels57]

I would like to say that Hayes looked great and with him/Couts/Patrick down the middle those are some big two way centers that quite possibly have chemistry with whichever wings are paired with them and that is huge. Morin also had a solid game and he should easily be the 7th d going into the season if everyone is healthy.

I'll f***ing fight anyone that disagrees Morin is far more effective than Hagg. Hes better in all 3 zones.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Ratcliffe looked extremely nondescript tonight. Essentially just a big guy going for some skates out there tonight.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Farabee went from hitting the linemate lottery to broke in a flash and it showed. Every player plays better with better linemates, but guys like him and Vorobyev (last preseason) are impacted much more. Their games are centered around making subtle plays and playing off of their teammates. They cannot individually take over games.

Hayes’ visor is going to drive me mad.

Think he was having a competition with Komarov.

 

[Rebels57]

Hayes looks awesome.

I didn't see much of the first two periods, but how did goaltending look? I know Hart didn't play

Elliott allowed an early softy.

Lyon allowed a 3rd period softy through a screen.

Isles didnt have many scoring chances despite the PP advantage. We doubled them up in shots and shut them down on D.

 

[Qyburn]

Hayes looks awesome.

I didn't see much of the first two periods, but how did goaltending look? I know Hart didn't play

About what you'd expect. I don't think there was even a "highlight" they could play in between periods.

Some people here got on Elliott for one that just kind of flew in, but I don't think it's possible to judge what kind of sightline he had. Then again it's Elliott so no one really cares.

 

[FlyerNutter]

I'll ****ing fight anyone that disagrees Morin is far more effective than Hagg. Hes better in all 3 zones.

It’s a little sad, to think what he could have been might he have stayed healthy.

The physical ability is there but sometimes it seems he’s a bit behind the play to me. He needs playing time desperately. It sucks even more because other guys have jumped over him on the depth chart.

 

[bennysflyers16]

PK looked great
Morin looked good
Myers was awesome

Ratcliffe struggled

Stewart brought nothing.

 

[flyerslducks]

how was rubstov? kinda hoping we see him on the 4th line with raff-laughts-rubstov

 

[FlyerNutter]

PK looked great
Morin looked good
Myers was awesome

Ratcliffe struggled

Stewart brought nothing.

Stewart brought a bit of a physical game. If he keeps that going they just might want to keep him around as that presence on the fourth line.

I don’t agree with it, but NHL coaches have been known to value such players.

 

[Rebels57]

Ratcliffe looked extremely nondescript tonight. Essentially just a big guy going for some skates out there tonight.

Yeah he didnt do much. Can tell hes still very raw and most definitely needs AHL time. Having a blackhole at Center didnt help.

 

[Magua]

JVR-Hayes-Voracek

For 1 preseason game, Hayes definitely looked the part of a big, smart puck possession center who just settles play down. It will be nice to have multiple of those. Good PK work.....1 game down, 600 to go. Voracek and JVR were going half-gear for the most part, but the line cycled well. Voracek was a strong compliment through the NZ, which I'd worry about with Lindblom in his place (all 3 aren't NZ threats). Can Hayes carry those two defensively against non-AHL competition?​

Lindblom-Rubtsov-Stewart

Stewart can fight and lay some late hits all he wants, but man did he look slow and did nothing with the puck. Lindblom and Rubtsov had some subtle plays. Not a whole lot stood out, but those two are tenacious forecheckers. Rubtsov certainly didn't stand out as overmatched. Give them a better RW. Lindblom can do more offensively though.​

Ratcliffe-O'Reilly-Farabee

Farabee was sort of like Lindblom/Rubtsov. Subtle plays, meat on the bone, was on the puck a fair amount (probably 10x more than his linemates), but he wasn't overmatched. Usual self attacking off-puck. The players he was with did absolute squat though. O'Reilly is whatever as an AHLer in place for Frost. But Ratcliffe needs to be phased out of the roster competition sooner rather than later. Continuing his preseason, he was a black hole -- not sure he made more than 1 play with the puck tonight. He did nothing to create space, got knocked off too easily, was late on most plays, failed on a bunch of passes, and in tight spaces he lost feel for the puck anytime someone was near. Why I'm more down on him than most is because he did this stuff in the OHL too, and I've regularly discussed it. I just worry about him at ES under tight checking/pace of play. Even his skating strength gets nullified.​

Sushko-Vorobyev-Crisculo

Sushko actually didn't look bad if they're grooming him for the Hextall anointed 4th line role in a couple years. Simple, nothing standout, but he wasn't lost. Vorobyev looked pretty dang good with the players he was with. Too bad he couldn't play with better players though. He deserves a better shot to showcase. Solid work on the PK will endear him, I'm sure, when it comes to bottom 6/4th line competition.​

Ghost-Braun

Ghost was pretty stellar all night, not much more to say. Braun was very strong defensively tonight and complimented him well (like I said a few weeks ago, his ideal partner might be an elite transition guy in Ghost). His ability to pressure at the blue line was super important too for Ghost. Guys like Hagg/AMac can't even do that, and Ghost relies on stopping rushes. Whether he can keep up with the puck under NHL forecheck, I don't know. But he did look good defensively tonight and allowed that pair to get up ice fast with possession shifts.​

Zamula-Myers

Zamula was a beaut tonight, and his poise on breakouts and passes in general is something else. He has the makings for a great rush defender too. Even in the cycle, he used his body and massive reach well to take/shield the puck. Myers was the usual. But Zamula -- despite draft pedigree and horrific lack of pro experience! -- has a chance to be here sooner than expected at LD if he keeps it up. Dude just balls out against pros.​

Morin-Welinski

Morin was legitimately a disaster the first half with and without the puck. He turned the page the second half and was much better in timing/execution. If his mission was to make the brass forget about Hagg as the #7, I can't say he did. But he did get better.​

 

[bennysflyers16]

Stewart brought a bit of a physical game. If he keeps that going they just might want to keep him around as that presence on the fourth line.

I don’t agree with it, but NHL coaches have been known to value such players.

Laughton Ruby Raffl
If Stewart sticks around it has to be as press box fodder.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

3 year bridges may be the new trend though. That's essentially what Meier got too. Glad Fletcher didn't go that route.

Tough to say, given the uncertainty of the US tv deal. Once that deal kicks in, I wager term will become more important to players again.

Glad Provy and TK got locked up for term, though. Even 2/3 on bridge deals would have been difficult to work at expiry.

 

[FlyerNutter]

One other thing I’ll throw out and this is just a random thought.

The team has a lot of players that do a lot of good things hockey wise. Very cliche of course, but I can’t really think of another way to put it.

I don’t want to get into a whole debate, but they really do miss having a guy like Caufield for example somewhere in the mix. It’s not crucial, but just something that I do think would take this club to that next level - so to speak. I do sometimes get a bit of a redundant feeling.

Fun to watch the boys again.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

It’s a little sad, to think what he could have been might he have stayed healthy.

The physical ability is there but sometimes it seems he’s a bit behind the play to me. He needs playing time desperately. It sucks even more because other guys have jumped over him on the depth chart.

Yeah, I want to like Morin, because I’d love to have his physicality & he can cover a lot of territory.

But his hands are slow & made of stone & he reads the game sluggishly. He got blasted off the puck & turned it over on the first goal & probably screened Elliott. If other players did that no one would be praising them. I was happy with some of his aggressive plays, but he makes a lot of mistakes. This was a typical game for him. But,, maybe he’s still rusty from missing so many games. Timing isn’t easy to get back right away. Same goes for Stewart, whose game timing was way off.

 

[Starat327]

JVR-Hayes-Voracek

For 1 preseason game, Hayes definitely looked the part of a big, smart puck possession center who just settles play down. It will be nice to have multiple of those. Good PK work.....1 game down, 600 to go. Voracek and JVR were going half-gear for the most part, but the line cycled well. Voracek was a strong compliment through the NZ, which I'd worry about with Lindblom in his place (all 3 aren't NZ threats). Can Hayes carry those two defensively against non-AHL competition?​

Lindblom-Rubtsov-Stewart

Stewart can fight and lay some late hits all he wants, but man did he look slow and did nothing with the puck. Lindblom and Rubtsov had some subtle plays. Not a whole lot stood out, but those two are tenacious forecheckers. Rubtsov certainly didn't stand out as overmatched. Give them a better RW. Lindblom can do more offensively though.​

Ratcliffe-O'Reilly-Farabee

Farabee was sort of like Lindblom/Rubtsov. Subtle plays, meat on the bone, was on the puck a fair amount (probably 10x more than his linemates), but he wasn't overmatched. Usual self attacking off-puck. The players he was with did absolute squat though. O'Reilly is whatever as an AHLer in place for Frost. But Ratcliffe needs to be phased out of the roster competition sooner rather than later. Continuing his preseason, he was a black hole -- not sure he made more than 1 play with the puck tonight. He did nothing to create space, got knocked off too easily, was late on most plays, failed on a bunch of passes, and in tight spaces he lost feel for the puck anytime someone was near. Why I'm more down on him than most is because he did this stuff in the OHL too. I just worry about him at ES under tight checking/pace of play. Black hole tonight.​

Sushko-Vorobyev-Crisculo

Sushko actually didn't look bad if they're grooming him for the Hextall anointed 4th line role in a couple years. Simple, nothing standout, but he wasn't lost. Vorobyev looked pretty dang good with the players he was with. Too bad he couldn't play with better players though. He deserves a better shot to showcase.​

Ghost-Braun

Ghost was pretty stellar all night, not much more to say. Braun was very strong defensively tonight and complimented him well (like I said a few weeks ago, his ideal partner might be an elite transition guy in Ghost). His ability to pressure at the blue line was super important too for Ghost. Guys like Hagg/AMac can't even do that, and Ghost relies on stopping rushes. Whether he can keep up with the puck under NHL forecheck, I don't know. But he did look good defensively tonight and allowed that pair to get up ice fast with possession shifts.​

Zamula-Myers

Zamula was a beaut tonight, and his poise on breakouts and passes in general is something else. He has the makings for a great rush defender too. Even in the cycle, he used his body and massive reach well to take/shield the puck. Myers was the usual. But Zamula -- despite draft pedigree and blatant lack of pro experience! -- has a chance to be here sooner than expected at LD if he keeps it up.​

Morin-Welsinski

Morin was legitimately a disaster the first half with and without the puck. He turned the page the second half and was much better in timing/execution. If his mission was to make the brass forget about Hagg as the #7, I can't say he did. But he did get better.​

Get off your high horse.

 

[FlyerNutter]

Yeah, I want to like Morin, because I’d love to have his physicality & he can cover a lot of territory.

But his hands are slow & made of stone & he reads the game sluggishly. He got blasted off the puck & turned it over on the first goal & probably screened Elliott. If other players did that no one would be praising them. I was happy with some of his aggressive plays, but he makes a lot of mistakes. This was a typical game for him. But,, maybe he’s still rusty from missing so many games. Timing isn’t easy to get back right away. Same goes for Stewart, whose game timing was way off.

It’s the speed of the game. Which is where I think his biggest issue lies. Not that he can’t keep up physically, but I often see his head and body turning toward the puck way after the play is made.

He’s a work I progress. The potential is there, but I’m not sure he’s ever going to get enough playing time with this organization to develop properly.

You want to root for him.

 

[Rebels57]

Hart would have had a shutout without breaking a sweat tonight

 

[Magua]

Get off your high horse.

Shut up and let me gift you with my 100% correct thoughts.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Ratcliffe getting a stretch pass from Myers at the offensive blue line on the PP with no one in sight and getting immediately tracked down unable to generate a chance was disappointing. I still think in an ideal world he spends most of his ELC in the AHL.

You’d have to be crazy to think Zamula is a better prospect though.

 

[CapnZin]

This will be a longer post. If you want to read, awesome! If not, just skip it.

MY THOUGHTS:

- Well... I was expecting more, however, Barry Trotz's defensive-minded system was just too much for the Flyers to handle. Sadly, the Flyers were much more skilled than this Islander's preseason team, but didn't really play like it. Too many mistakes and not enough structure in the Ozone.

- That wasn't to say the Flyers played poorly. There were definitely some bright spots to this game. Our new key additions played quite well. I was pleasantly surprised.

- I wanted to see more pressure in the Ozone, specifically on the forecheck, however it seemed to be more of a support-style system... this is the first 'real' game experience we got to see, so obviously things will change. Just what I thought for my first impression.

- What a big f*** you by AV on playing f***ing Cal O'Rielly, or whatever the scrubs name is, with Farbee and Ratcliffe. I would feel disrespected.

- The PP stunk. There was only one moment where I was like "Damn, ok" and that was the East-West-East passing where Lindblom set up JVR, but the Islander's goalie made a great save.

-----Player Observations-----

- Kevin Hayes: Maybe I was wrong (referring to all the shit I have posted about him). He was the best Flyer in this game... by far and that's not to degrade Myers who played a fantastic game. He was soooo strong with the puck and was amazing on the boards. It was refreshing to see his play. He thought the game so quickly so short summer ending. He looked like he was in mid-season form. After this game I am definitely warming up to him. We'll have to see how he continues to perform going in to the season.

- Phil Myers: I can't say enough good things about him. He is so slick with the puck continuously performing effective dekes which open up good shooting lanes. One thing that really stood out this game was his ability to close on a skater. Once he got his legs moving and got his stick in lanes, players couldn't do much with the puck. It doesn't look like he is competing for a spot in the T6... it looks like he's trying to compete for a spot in the T4.

- Joel Farabee: I was super high on him coming in and apparently so are the coaches. I didn't see much in this game... although having Cal O'Rielly as your C must suck. Farabee was decent on the forecheck, however, nothing really ever came of it. He needs to make his play a little more efficient: better skating angles to get to pucks, leading players with passes, and taking away skating lanes from opposing players in the Dzone. Once he does that, I think his game will break out. He just seems slightly sloppy to me in these past 2 games.
***Yes, I'm being hypercritical because he has the greatest opportunity to make the 3RW and I don't want to be all gooey talking about him like he's a lock***

- Issac Ratcliffe: Another solid game. Played with a lot of energy. Right after Stewart got decked, Ratcliffe went right after their defender throwing some crosschecks and a glove. Besides that, he was very effective below the red line and played well as the F1. Once he got the defender on the boards, he did well to slow the game down which allowed the F2 and S1 players to get set up in their positions. I really liked his game. Hopefully we get to see a lot more of him.

- Egor Zamula: He really shined early game. Such a fluid skater with a quick mind. His shots were placed well, his recoveries were quick (not as good as Myers was, but still damn good), and looked comfortable out there- no nerves. Zamula did have some mental lapses late game- specifically with a poorly timed and placed shot which resulted in NYI blocking it and going down the ice eventually scoring... I think.

- Sam Morin: He injured Bellows.. that's really the only thing I noticed from him. His game was poor and he looked stiff and scared to make a mistake. You can tell the pressure might be getting to him. It truly is his do or die (fly or die) moment to have a spot in the NHL... at least with this team. Hopefully be loses the nerves and plays his game next time.

- Justin Braun: Solid solid game. I didn't realize he has such a good defensive stick. He used it multiple times to take away grade A opportunities. His skating isn't there, but he's able to make up for it with his D IQ. Nothing to pick apart from his performance tonight.

- Mikhail Vorobyev: Some shifts he stood out and most he didn't. It's not like he did anything bad, however, it was just an unnoticeable performance. That'll happen when your linemates are Maxim Sushko and Kyle Criscuolo (I don't know how to spell their names).

- German Rubtsov: I don't know. Something about me is starting to love his play. You'll never be on the edge of your seat watching him, but you just appreciate the way he approaches and thinks the game. He isn't scared to go into the corner and get sent to the ground then head to the front of the net to take more heat. Ruby is definitely a player I think should get a chance in the NHL pretty soon... especially if there are all of these injuries.

- Oskar Lindblom: Damn, that's all I can say. His skating has improved yet again and his first step is much better than last year. He's just an under-the-radar type player that you love. He's certainly becoming one of my favorites.

- Chris Stewart: Not gonna lie.... he is much much faster than I thought. He beat one of the better Islander skaters in a full sprint down the ice; Anthony Beauvillier. His game sucks and he wont be in the NHL. Stewart got his shit rocked on a hit when he tried to dangle and then got up and beat the shit out of the Islander defender, lol. Must be degrading throwing a nice hit then getting beat up.


----Player Ratings----
Players That I Thought Played A Good Game:
Myers, Zamula, Braun, Voracek, JVR, Hayes, Ratlciffe, Farabee (Yes, I know I was tough on him up there), Lindblom, Rubtsov

Players That I Thought Were Average/Unnoticeable:
Gostisbehere, Vorobyev, Elliot, Lyon, Sushko

Players That I Thought Were Bad:
Morin (It just wasn't his game, in my opinion), Welinski, Stewart, Criscuolo, O'Rielly


----My Stars Of The Game----
1st Star: Both Islander Goalies
2nd Star: Kevin Hayes
3rd Star: Phil Myers

HM: Luca Sbisa, Thomas Hickey, Egor Zamula, and Lindblom

----Highlights----
The only highlight that matters:



If you decided to read, you deserve a prize. Thank you and I look forward to our next game TOMORROW... WOOOO!